#1

The other day I heard about this group of four young Canadian guys working on a project they call "The Buried Life." Essentially, these guys have each compiled a list of 100 things they would like to do before they die. They travel the country in an RV attempting to accomplish these tasks, which range anywhere from "Sing the national anthem to a packed stadium" (accomplished) to "Get on the cover of Rolling Stone" (not so much). Along the way, they ask strangers a simple question: "What would you like to do before you die?" Their goal is to then help these people they have just met chase their dreams. Myriads of inspiring and heartfelt moments follow.

After three years out on the road, the "Buried Life" guys are garnering serious national attention, and will be doing what they do on their own MTV series, starting in December. (Apparently MTV ran out of girls to do "The Hills" spinoffs with. Too bad.)

Well, dammit, I'm inspired. I'm making my own list of 100. What you're reading is task #1.

I've always wanted to write. A journal, a short story, the next great American novel, whatever. I briefly had an opinion column in my high school newspaper, and it was fun, but I was too concerned with what 2,000 high school kids thought of me through my writing to make it honest and worthwhile. Also, I tried way too hard to be way funnier than I actually am. Also also, this was over four years ago.

I constantly have all of these thoughts in my head, and while ninety percent of them are probably crap, what if I actually have something to say with that other ten percent? Whether you know me well or not, you've probably noticed I'm not exactly the quickest to open up. I often assume that what I have to say isn't that interesting, or that I shouldn't be bothering people with my thoughts or problems. So I don't speak up, things get bottled up inside me, and I deal with everything alone. I'm guessing that's not the best idea. Might as well starting writing some stuff down.

So boom! Here I am, a blogger. As I'm not entirely sure where my mind will be in the upcoming weeks and months, I can't really tell you what exactly to expect from me here. I'm not actually expecting anyone to read this really (expect...ok...hey mom.). I figure the fact that I'm writing it is the important part.

But if you are reading, and plan on joining me in the future, first of all welcome to The Dohedron. Be sure to expect hard-hitting, jaw-dropping entries like: "My first 25 Dave Matthews concerts," "Top 10 weightlifting no-no's," and "101 Ways to arrange your bumper stickers." Occasionally we'll take a break from such meaty topics and just talk about life. Ups and downs...challenges...successes. We'll laugh, we'll cry. Maybe we'll learn. Maybe I'll even explain what "Dohedron" means.

If you'd like to suggest something, complain about something, or just say hey (or if you need some pictures taken, wink wink), please email me at colin@colinthompsonphoto.com. Or just leave a comment here. Either way, I'd love to hear from you.

I'm not an ambi-turner,

Colin